Next, the hostility doesn't appear out of nowhere. The threads that catch the most crap (feel free to add to list):

"Why doesn't somebody else do this..."
"You're all doing it wrong..."
"I heard about burning man yesterday and I got a lot of questions..."
"It's not fair..."
"If these people didn't show up, it would be better..."
"Simon won't be my buddy..."

theCryptofishist wrote:Think of it as a bunch of baby wolves really, pouncing, playing, biting, rolling, growling--and at teh end of the day sleeping in a nice big warm pile of wolf pups.

oh come on, its only like that to the small wolf pack. to everyone else its agressively hostile, openly plain and simple.

Maybe. It can certainly look that way. For the most part, I belive that if you just hang around for a few nasty comments, then you "pass the initiation" and get to play with the rest of us. I don't have any specific evidence at hand to prove this. But I do thry and say it with some frequency, in the hope that people will sit it out for the uncomfortable day.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

theCryptofishist wrote:... I belive that if you just hang around for a few nasty comments, then you "pass the initiation" and get to play with the rest of us.

and just who in the fuck says its worth the effort!?

its obvious the quality is low - if measured by the total number of posts its almost non-existent. people have to want to be part of it for your initiation ritual to work fishy, there has to be some compelling reason its worth it. its not, and that makes it rather pathetic.

you're mistaking not being able to take it with not wanting to be around loosers and assholes.

theCryptofishist wrote:... I belive that if you just hang around for a few nasty comments, then you "pass the initiation" and get to play with the rest of us.

and just who in the fuck says its worth the effort!?

its obvious the quality is low - if measured by the total number of posts its almost non-existent. people have to want to be part of it for your initiation ritual to work fishy, there has to be some compelling reason its worth it. its not, and that makes it rather pathetic.

you're mistaking not being able to take it with not wanting to be around losers and assholes.

Give the man a star. He nailed it. Where do the so-called old timers get the idea that it is a given that the newcomers want their company? We all have our own way of doing things, and I'm not saying that the OP's was wrong. Maybe if I was him, I'd be ready to cut out, too, but for now, I settle for following one simple rule.

"One strike and you're out."

If I see somebody being an asshole to anybody, anywhere, he's off my screen, permanently. Is he an incredible artist, somebody with a million great stories, a rich storehouse of information, something like that? I don't care. I'll get by without those stories, or information, or art, and if I can't, so what? What's Burning Man good for, if it stops being fun?

At that rate, might as well stay home, and be at least a few hundred dollars richer.

If I see somebody being an asshole to anybody, anywhere, he's off my screen, permanently. Is he an incredible artist, somebody with a million great stories, a rich storehouse of information, something like that? I don't care. I'll get by without those stories, or information, or art, and if I can't, so what? What's Burning Man good for, if it stops being fun?

you'll have lots of fun around here when you can only see your own posts ...

please, please, please plonk me! after seeing your posts tonight, i would consider it an honor.